Online Services

Europe and Aberdeenshire Council

The council is actively involved in European affairs ensuring the interests of Aberdeenshire are protected and promoted. The Economic Development European Unit endeavours to take advantage of the opportunities available from the EU for the development of the area and to further promote the regions profile in Europe.

The European Unit is primarily involved in securing European funding, and in monitoring and responding to developments in the EU that may impact on the council.

The council's European Engagement Approach 2012-17 sets out our plan to ensure that the benefits of EU membership can be fully exploited and benefit Aberdeenshire. View the European Engagement Approach (pdf 631KB).

Funding

There are a large number of European Union funding programmes open to business, communities and public bodies throughout Aberdeenshire. The council’s European Team applies for European funding for projects and also supports the management and administration of European grants. The team also supports the management and administration of the following European funding programmes which communities, businesses and organisations can apply to:

The council also manages the Aberdeen City and Shire Business Gateway Strategic Intervention which has been allocated £463,490 from the European Regional Development Fund. This funding allows for the provision of enhanced business support services from the Business Gateway service.

Policy and external groups

Aberdeenshire Council has adopted a position paper on post-Brexit funding programmes which could replace European Union programmes. The policies of the European Union play a vital role in the operation of the council. A substantial part of the legislative framework governing the council is developed at a European level so it is important that the council is aware of and involved in this process. The European Unit participates in a number of European groups to keep track of developments in Europe to ensure the best outcome for the area. The key groups are the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), and the North Sea Commission (NSC).

To find out more about council involvement in these groups please see: